SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Thousands of people poured into Clinton Square in the heart of the city Friday evening for the annual Christmas tree lighting to signal the start of the holiday season.
At 7 p.m. a switch was flipped and people rang bells, clapped and cheered as 18,000 lights came to life.
Before the tree lighting, Santa and Mrs. Claus arrived, climbed aboard a city truck and were chauffeured around the ice rink. Cheers erupted, children craned to see Saint Nick and parents hoisted their kids up onto their shoulders for a better view.
The temperature hovered in the low 20s, but the cold failed to stop scores of people from trekking to Clinton Square. Among them was Kath Amos, of LaFayette.
Amos and her family brought her bundled up 7-year-old granddaughter Olivia to her first big Christmas tree lighting.
"I just thought it would be exciting for her," Amos said as Olivia made snow angels in Hanover Square before the lighting.
Ron Young and his wife Ann, of Pompey, brought their 9-year-old son Kelton to the tree lighting. Kelton went to the tree lighting for the first time when he was 6, but was looking forward to it again this year. The Youngs missed the event the last few years because they were always out of town for Thanksgiving.
"This year we were in town and decided to come," Ann Young said.
People snapped photos with each other and Salvation Army volunteers with kettles rang bells on every corner. People pushed in around the ice rink. Vendors sold snacks and hawked glow sticks, glow swords and toy laser guns.
People came to Clinton Square well before the tree lighting to get good spots and enjoy the city's annual "Home for the Holidays" celebration, which included a performance by the Brownskin Band. Radio personalities Kathy Rowe and Patrick from Y94 served as emcees.
Dalia Pinto, of Mattydale, and her daughter Daphne Harrison, arrived with a friend an hour early. They grabbed some hot cocoa and walked around for a bit. Afterward, they planned to head home and watch Christmas movies. Pinto and Harrison said that although it was cold it was worth it to see the tree lit up.
"It only comes around once a year," Harrison said.
Mayor Stephanie Miner was joined on stage for the lighting by Police Chief Frank Fowler, Fire Chief Paul Linnertz and the student winners of the mayor's "Share Your Story" challenge. Afterward, Miner held an open house at City Hall with Santa and Mrs. Claus.
The lighting of Syracuse's Christmas tree first began in 1913 in Columbus Square. In 1933, it was moved to Clinton Square. The annual tree lighting has never been cancelled because of bad weather, but it was suspended for a few years during World War II.
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